Costus speciosus (J.Koenig) Sm.

 
  • Family : ZINGIBERACEAE
    (GINGER FAMILY)
  • Family (as per The Plant List) : Costaceae
  • Species : Costus speciosus
  • Species Name (as per The Plant List) : Cheilocostus speciosus (J.Koenig) C.D.Specht
  • Vernacular name : Kust (Hin.); Naayi kabbu, Chengala koshtha (Kan.); Kottam (Tam.); Bomma kachika, Boga chika, Chengalva koshtu (Tel.); Gaigendalia, Gai gobra, Kena, Keuana, Cheki Kanda, Keu kand, Keogabkachya, Koukuka, Kokola, Keo (Ori.); Pushkaara (San.)
  • Key identification features : An erect shrub with tuberous rootstock. Leaves are subsessile, spirally arranged, oblong. Flowers are in dense spikes. Bracts and bracteoles are oblong, red. Corolla tube long and spread-out distally, orbicular with a yellow center.
  • Habit : Herb
  • Flower, Fruit : July-December
  • Comments : Often on hills above 900 m, gregarious by stream banks, shola floor etc. Also cultivated in gardens and for its medicinal value.
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Distribution Locality : Kolli Hills (Namakkal district), Shevaroy Hills (Salem district) (Tamil Nadu State); Kurnool district, Visakhapatnam district, West Godavari district, Srikakulam district (Andhra Pradesh State); Odisha State
  • World Distribution : India, Sri Lanka, Himalaya, China, Malaysia, New Guinea, Taiwan
  • Literature : J.L.Ellis, 1990- Flora of Nallamalais Vol. 2; H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1995- Flora of Orissa Vol. 3 ; R. S. Rao et al., 1986 - Flora of West Godavari District ; R. S. Rao and S. H. Sreeramulu, 1986 - Flora of Srikakulam District; H. O. Saxena and M. Brahmam, 1989 - The Flora of Similipal, Orissa; Matthew, K.M., The Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (2). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983.
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Arun Singh R., Deepak Kumar, Raja K Swamy and Navendu Page (2016). Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats. http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in/plants.php?name=Costus speciosus. Downloaded on 21 November 2024.

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Digital Flora of Eastern Ghats by Herbarium JCB is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at http://easternghats.ces.iisc.ernet.in.